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As trainer Tom Amoss stood in the winner’s circle at Churchill Downs following his 300th victory under the historic Twin Spires of the home of the Kentucky Derby, he recalled his first journey to the Louisville track. The 47-year-old New Orleans native picked a good day for that first visit.

Two-time Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Calvin Borel became only the fourth rider to win 900 races in the 135-year history of Churchill Downs when Patton’s Creek Farm’s War Eagle Lady romped to a 14 ¾-length victory in Wednesday’s sixth race.

Louisville-based owners and breeders Richard, Elaine and Bert Klein have raced some very talented horses at Churchill Downs through the years, but few have attracted the early attention generated by their 3-year-old gelding Cash Refund.

Three-time graded stakes winner Capt Candyman Can looms as the betting favorite in Saturday’s 8th running of the $100,000-added Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs, but that proven veteran could face a major challenge from unbeaten newcomer Cash Refund.

Jockey Julien Leparoux won the 1,000th race of his brief career on Wednesday when he guided My Little Connor ($6.20) to a 1 ¾-length victory for trainer Dave Vance in the third race at Churchill Downs.

KENTUCKY DERBY WINNER MINE THAT BIRD HEADS TO PIMLICO – A few minutes after 9 o’clock Tuesday morning, Double Eagle Ranch and Buena Suerte Equine’s Mine That Bird rolled out of the Churchill Downs barn area headed for Baltimore and the second leg of racing’s Triple Crown.

Due to a reduced number of entries and a decline in purse money earned from all wagering sources during its ongoing 2009 Spring Meet, Churchill Downs Racetrack (“Churchill”) will request permission from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (“KHRC”) to eliminate seven race days from its 2009 Spring Meet, which had been scheduled for 52 racing days between Saturday, April 25, and Sunday, July 5.

KENTUCKY OAKS WINNER RACHEL ALEXANDRA WORKS FOR NEW BARN – Possible Preakness candidate Rachel Alexandra, a record-smashing 20 ¼-length winner of the Kentucky Oaks (Grade I) tuned up for a possible bid for Saturday’s $1 million Preakness Stakes (GI) with an easy four-furlong work on Sunday at Churchill Downs.

Mark Stanley’s Trusty Temper made a successful return to the races Saturday afternoon at Churchill Downs, scoring a wire-to-wire, four-length victory in the featured 505 Dayton Girls Dash for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up.

The “$64,000 question” for trainer Bennie “Chip” Woolley is who will ride Kentucky Derby (Grade I) winner Mine That Bird in next Saturday’s Preakness (GI) at Pimlico. “Calvin Borel will be on the (entry) card,” Woolley said Saturday morning at Churchill Downs. “I do have a backup, but I am not ready to release it.”

In the interest of human and equine safety, Churchill Downs called off its final five races late Friday afternoon following a heavy wave of showers and thunderstorms. It was just the third cancellation of its kind in the last 19 years at the historic Louisville racetrack.

RACHEL ALEXANDRA MOVES TO NEW BARN – Stonestreet Stables and Harold McCormick’s new purchase Rachel Alexandra began her new life in the care of trainer Steve Asmussen on Thursday morning by galloping once around a sloppy Churchill Downs main track under exercise rider Dominic Terry.

Elizabeth Alexander’s Tap Dancing held off a late bid from Silver Mountain by a length to win the featured $43,760 Hobert Summers Memorial over a “sloppy” track at Churchill Downs in a field reduced to four on Wednesday afternoon.

Fans who are still recovering from the 135th Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands and the surprise victory by 50-1 shot Mine That Bird will have added motivation to return to the track when the Spring Meet resumes on Wednesday as huge carryover pools will be available in both the Pick 6 and Super HI-5 wagers.